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September 21, 2012

Be Carefree Car-Free!

There is an international day dedicated to travelling car-free, did you know? It's tomorrow, the 22nd of September.

We tend to forget how easy it is to take public transport within the city instead of sitting in traffic jams, while all the buses rattle past us in the empty bus lane... Not having to search for a parking space, just propping up our bikes right next to our destination... Walk to the corner shop for what we need instead of buying up everything in a hypermarket thinking "I don't have to carry it, I might as well buy this and this and this too...". Curling up on a seat on the night bus after a night out instead of paying for a taxi... (I won't even go into environmental issues here, we know those all too well.)

So how about not getting into your cars tomorrow, take the bus, get on your bikes or just walk! I will definitely do so! :)

Car-Free Day has been celebrated for a few years here in Budapest, when the great Andrássy boulevard is closed down and people stroll and cycle all over, look at stalls where they can learn more about environmental issues and check out arts and crafts stuff in the middle of the city. This year I made some small paintings that will await their buyers anxiously at the stall of Jojó Art Shop, here's a sampling for you! The green paper you see is from a photo album from 1909 (that was the date pencilled into it). I found it in a second hand bookshop, in a very cheap pile, after the owner took out all the pictures and left the book there, falling apart. The paper is gorgeous and I love painting on it...

1 comment:

I wish we had a bus lane! The buses here just get stuck in traffic like the rest of us and being behind one is a huge bummer because they stop so often! At least bike travel options are great here in Portland :)